Posted in The Hard Truth
CROSSING THE
Some very deep and spiritually significant things have been happening this week for us, which have been profoundly impacting. I will try to keep this as short as possible, but will say that we are both honored, blessed and humbled by them.
Firstly we are extremely blessed to be in a local church which openly discusses the Holy Spirit, and doesn’t shy away from this topic. Our daughter has blossomed in this environment and is making beautiful friendships with Godly girls of character and faith, and is beginning to use some of her gifts during the children’s worship time. She looks forward to going each week and her countenance is full of joy.
Secondly, Hubby and I are working with a minister here in the Twin Cities. For several years this veteran in the faith has been in our lives and walked with us through some very difficult times – counseling and encouraging us along the way, however we have held him at bay because of fear of stepping into that next stage of our spiritual walk. Fear and faith cannot coexist together, so we are choosing to step out in faith and allow this man and his wife to properly “Father” us so we can enter that next stage God has for us (I Corinthians 4:15). This may be a relatively new concept to many, but one that is modeled by God the Father himself in the relationship between He and His beloved son Jesus Christ, and then Jesus with his disciples, and then the disciples with others. I love these quotes by Paul Jabowski, from his book Sons To Glory. In it he talks about the role of spiritual Dads:
A father exhorts and comforts and implores and sometimes chastens when necessary (1 Thess. 2:11, Heb. 12:7-11), but only after establishing you through much encouragement. A father is always around through thick and thin. A father does not forsake you when you fail or leave you when disagreements arise. A father not only goes with you into battle, he leads the way (Joshua 1:5-9). Spiritual fathering is the major leadership method for building the body of Christ.
He also says:
The most important thing you could ever impart to someone is how to love God, and this does not come by teaching or laying on of hands or any other "quick fix" method. It comes from being loved by a father. It comes by hanging around someone on a consistent basis who has an intimate relationship with THE Abba Father. This is why until Jesus came, we never truly knew how to be intimate with God. Jesus started the Fathering mentorship by being a father to a small group of disciples and this little group became fathers who had sons who became fathers, and so on and so on. The fathering family of God began.
I believe God is bringing us into His divine order as we commit, not only to our local Body of Believers (walking in one-anothering and authentic community), but to deeply accountable mentoring by a loving “spiritual Father and Mother” who will help maximize our giftings and optimize us as we walk in the destiny God has called us to walk while on this earth. Just like the Israelites had to walk around in the wilderness for 40 years because they couldn’t quite figure it out, so we have also had our desert time of walking in circles and not knowing where to go or who to properly and fitly be joined with. However, just as the Israelites crossed the Jordan into their promised land, so must we also, and we want to do that with the gentle hand of our Abba Daddy leading, and mentoring from our earthly spiritual father as well.
There are some misconceptions (I know I had some anyway) about the promised land. Most people think milk and honey, utopia, peace, etc when they think about the promised land, but helllooooooooo . . . there were also giants to face in that land! :-) Crossing the Jordan means to be joyfully appropriating our spiritual blessings in Christ and courageously engaging in spiritual warfare against God’s enemies. Not only were the giants really BIG, but the manna also stopped. So manna doesn’t taste very good, but it was free and they didn’t have to work for it right? However, now that they were in this new land they had to cut off their old life (in Egypt and slavery) and cut ties with their old way of life so that they could properly reflect their covenant relationship with God. They now had to live and move and fight in a completely different way than in the wilderness – this required far more faith than they needed while living in the wilderness (and a hefty amount of maturity). Likewise if we, as a family are going to make it in this new spiritual place we have to have the right mentoring and guidance by those who have gone before us. Why? Because some day we will need to mentor and father others as they cross through the Jordan into their spiritual promised lands, and we don’t ever want to steer them the wrong way or wound them as they are crossing.
So why cross the Jordan you may ask? Joshua 21:43-45 tells us why: “So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side…Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord’s promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."
~ It's about a journey toward fulfilled promises ~
David Reid eloquently sums it all up in his Devotions For Growing Christians when he says, "God wants to see all His children enjoying the “abundant life” (John 10:10) and finding “rest of soul” (Matthew 11:28). He wants us to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). And He wants to see us “fighting the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12) and “standing firm” in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:14). These blessings and promises are all part of dwelling in the promised land of the heavenlies, but they can only be enjoyed and experienced by Christians who are willing to cross the Jordan."
It is time to cross the
If you would like to read the chapter on “Spiritual Fathering” in Sons To Glory (the book I mentioned above), it is free online at http://www.sonstoglory.com/spiritualfathersons.htm
God’s Richest Blessings In This New Season, and may your spiritual crossing of the Jordan be prominent, significant, and met with the right support from those who deeply love you, and want the same depth of promises fulfilled.
Let Faith Rise Up
<>< Kelly
